1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to an agricultural harvester, and in particular to a cleaning apparatus for an agricultural harvester conveyor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Agricultural equipment for handling citrus fruit and other crops are well known and have reached a high degree of mechanization. As harvesting equipment becomes more and more advanced, in addition to removing crops from the growing plants, the mechanized harvesters and other handling equipment collect and move the crops along to trucks and other mass transport vehicles.
It can be appreciated that the utility of such transport systems is increased if material other than the desired crop is removed early in the collection and transport process. Removal of this debris such as twigs and leaves at an early stage has several advantages. By removing the debris, the wear on equipment is reduced, as the equipment is typically not designed for transporting leaves, twigs and other unwanted material. The cost of transporting this debris and the capacity is increased if the debris is removed prior to being transported by other equipment. In addition, automatic removal of the debris at an early stage reduces the equipment needed to clean the crop at a later stage in processing. In some cases, the cleaning may require manual inspection and the early automatic removal of leaves and other debris may reduce labor costs associated with inspecting and removal of unwanted materials at a processing plant.
Although blowers and other devices for removing leaves and other debris do improve the overall quality of the harvested crop, still further improvements are possible. Prior art cleaning systems have typically been complicated and expensive and may require major reconfiguration of the harvesting equipment to accommodate the cleaning equipment. Such cleaning systems also may be subject to jamming and struggle to separate and remove unwanted debris and yet allow continued transport of the harvested crop.
It can be seen then that a new and improved agricultural harvester and an automatic system for removing unwanted debris is needed. Such a system should efficiently remove unwanted debris while continuing transport of the harvested crop. Moreover, such a system should be easily adaptable to existing equipment and be efficient and reliable without jamming. The present invention addresses these, as well as others associated with mechanized agricultural harvesters and automatic cleaning systems.